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The ECB wants counties to decide on the Hundred’s
future in the first few months of the 2024 season after consulting with
sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms, and IPL franchise owners about
the possibility of investing in the project.
Eight clubs that field both men’s and women’s teams
and are wholly controlled by the ECB make up the current Hundred model. During
the first three seasons of the competition, these clubs were governed by boards
made up of independent directors and county delegates.
However, since the end of the 2023 season, the ECB and
the counties have had lengthy discussions about the model. They are currently
in the second part of a three-part consultation period with the aim of making a
decision by April 2024. This would give them time to make adjustments for the
tournament’s 2025 edition.
Currently, the ECB sees the Hundred as a chance to
inject capital into the English game, thus they would want to make the event
open to private investors. The model’s specifics are still up for debate, but
one idea is to add two more teams, perhaps from the north-east and the
south-west.
Both of the most likely scenarios have the ECB giving
their principal host counties a 50% ownership part in the Hundred teams, which
would become franchises. For instance, MCC, the owners of Lord’s, would receive
a 50% share in London Spirit and Surrey would receive a 50% share in Oval
Invincibles.
In a meeting on Monday night, MCC’s chief executive
and chair, Guy Lavender, along with Bruce Carnegie-Brown, informed the members
that the ECB has been in communication with a variety of possible finance
sources, such as sovereign wealth funds, IPL franchise owners, and private
equity firms.
Lavender told ESPNcricinfo in a statement: “The
purpose of the Members’ informal meeting was to socialise some of the issues
with the membership regarding the future direction of The Hundred, including
developing thinking and engaging them with the information available at this
time.
“At present, nothing has been proposed or decided
and it is premature to land on any particular conclusions until the ECB
consultation and decision-making process involving the whole game has been
completed, as well as our own consultation with Members.”